Dark Innocence
by Hitsuiro Issa
Summary: An oc. A girl faces her lone destiny: to save lives or destroy them. From here, you decide what happens next. RxR please.
1. Prologue

Dark Innocence

Disclaimer: I do not own any names in this story you might recognize, except Ida, of course, who is completely fiction and made up without prior knowledge about who the 'demon messiah' really is. All other known names are from games respectively from Warcraft 3 and heroes of Might and Magic 5, property of Blizzard and 3DO. If you have any plans of suing me, however, know that it would be a losing debate. This piece will not be published without the correct copyright.

….

_**Rest Little Ida**_

_**Close your eyes and sleep**_

_**Lay your battered body **_

_**Not an eyelid should you peep**_

_**Ignore the screams and protests**_

_**Gathering in your head**_

_**Dream of happiness and hope**_

_**On your hand-made little bed**_

_**Forget about my departure**_

_**Every single worry be gone**_

_**For when the morning comes at last **_

_**You will be left with no one**_

---

Prologue:

He walked among the ashy grounds, stepping over the piles of burnt wood gingerly, straining his ears for sounds of intrusion. He couldn't shake off the feeling that somebody was there, no matter how empty and desolated the place looked. His hooves made crunching sounds as he crossed over a burnt-down house. Beyond that one, he 'saw' an unharmed cottage- and he was positive someone was inside. He approached the peculiar building cautiously, his hands clenched on his twin blades. His instincts were correct- he wasn't alone in this isolated place. Could it be right again in thinking that, whoever's inside, doesn't mean harm?

He pushed the wooden door open, looking around with his other senses. It was a woman, he knew, as he listened to the ragged breathing coming from behind the sofa. It seemed she was injured, her arms around something smaller, delicate- probably a child of three years.

As he made an attempt to peer over the couch, however, a sword rushed out of its sheath and met his nose, threatening to proceed if he made any more movements. He turned his head down and recognized the feeling of anger erupting from the woman- she was protecting the small body in her arms. He willed his voice to speak naturally, so that she wouldn't be frightened, and said in an undertone, "I don't mean harm," in fluent elvish.

The woman stared up at him. He could feel her gaze- he was quite used to that, really, with everybody staring at him in fear most of the times. But this was slightly different; sure, there was a trace of fear in her eyes, but he could also sense relief flooding in the woman's mind- a good omen.

"You're…an elf," she said in a hoarse whisper, and immediately he knew she was human. "Are you Sylvan?"

He shook his head no, and turned his attention to the child she cradled. "Is it alive?"

She looked scandalized. He mentally kicked himself- Why the hell did he say that?

"Of course my child is alive…she is only sleeping." She replied, cooing at the small girl. "But I must leave her here. She cannot come with me."

---

Perhaps one could call my decision of taking an innocent child under my wing savagery, no matter how ironic it sounds. And yes, I would say that person is marginally correct- if the child is truly the demon messiah, one way to avoid her becoming a full-fledged demon is by keeping her away from one, and yet even if I am only half demon, I am certainly not the right person to be given such a task. But Ida is a CHILD. Leaving her where her mother had left her would give her no chances of survival. She may be tainted, but an innocent soul such as hers may still have the chance to remain pure- regardless of what other people say.

Wizardry would have no hold on this little girl either. After all these years trying to drain the demonic energy emanating from my body with mage craft, I have long learned that no amount of magic will truly cleanse a soul as tainted as this little girl's and mine. However, she is still young, and her mind is as simple as an ordinary human. There is hope.

I did her mother a favor and named the child after myself. Taking away the I-L-L-N in my name, I came up with Ida, which meant 'godlike' in German language. It sounded so simple and fair (regardless of the meaning), and I wonder what she'd look like when she grows up. Would she be like her mother? It's so sad to think about, especially if I have no eyes to see.

I have grown fond of her presence two months later, but I have no use of her in my plans, and bringing her with me is like taking her to my final destination- death. I have been ordered to take down the lich king, and I have dawdled enough. Perhaps I would come back for her when all is over and I am free of Kil'jaeden's control. I do not want to take this little girl into the palm of another demon lord, possibly even worse than the Demon Sovereign. No; I would leave her somewhere safe and secure, where she'd grow up as an ordinary young woman until we meet again. If I survive, there would be an eternity left to spend with this little girl named Ida.

---


	2. Alone

Disclaimer: I said a lot of stuff earlier. I have no intention of repeating them again.

---

-Chapter 1: Alone- (9 years later)

"You have to learn how to control your anger, Ida."

The young 12-year old stared at the direction of the voice. "Why do you say that, big brother?"

"I saw you during your training. You lost control. It was most probably you remembered an event in the past that triggered your emotions, causing you to forget what you are recently doing."

Ida shouldered her bag made of fine silk, a gift from one of the shadow matriarchs serving her caretaker during her 11th birthday. "Okay, so maybe I did, but you don't have to rub it in my face."

"I know. But you can at least confide in me what you remembered. Does it involve the presence of a gargoyle-winged man?" the man prompted, the audibility of his voice lowering. "I'll come down and meet you; I'm using a spell to increase the volume of my voice from up here."

There was a sound of enormous flapping wings, then suddenly her hair flew in all directions, and she fought the urge to run away from the lowering beast.

Raelag, in all his ClanLord splendor, descended from the sky atop his Ebony dragon. The monster gave a last roar as it landed before the cowering girl, and Ida couldn't help screaming. Raelag laughed heartedly as he climbed down the dragon and pat the girl's head.

"You really are like your mother. She hated dragons." He said reminiscently. "Don't say that," she begged quietly. "I hardly even remember my mother. All I know is that she is human and that she has connections with the Griffin Empire."

Raelag, not wanting to tell the whole truth, said unconvincingly, "Then you have a start. At least you might know where to find her."

She cast him a look. "But you seem to know my mother," she says. "Can't you tell me…?"

"-Listen," he cuts through before she asks anything else, "I want to talk to you about your vision. I'll tell you about your mother when the time comes."

When the time comes. When will that ever be, Ida thought glumly, as she told her caretaker about the person she's been seeing in her mind lately. He looked thoughtful for a moment, and she waits for his reaction. She's always known Raelag as a rather quiet ClanLord, better than the others anyway. It was rare for a male Dark Elf to become the ClanLord though. How did he do it? Was he that strong?

Raelag had fair white skin like his fellow Dark elves. He wore his long, ebony hair freely down his shoulders and back, and his sharp intelligent eyes intimidated her and just about everybody. But despite this physical appearance, Raelag was a kind and thoughtful person. He took her under his wing when she was young, he taught her so many new things and how to handle her 'gift'. But there was one thing Raelag had deprived her of- the information regarding her mother.

Besides that, he had skills no one else possessed in the whole of Ygg-Chall. One of those numerous abilities was his mastery of the Dark arts- a practice Dark Elves could expertly use, something the necromancers couldn't perfectly execute. Not only that, he had also mastered Destructive magic as well, an offensive form of magic Asha had created in order to punish her enemies. Raelag was not only a arch mage; he was a clever and noble ClanLord, being able to successfully unite all of the other Clans, even the rebels.

She couldn't help marveling at how the purple lights from the glowing lamp posts shone against his golden armor. He had such big hands too- she watched him pat his great dragon tenderly on the head, watched his eyes glaze in a moment of thought. She no longer wondered why so many of his female peers adored him. If she wasn't so young, she would've found herself falling for him too, for his lean but muscular build, his silky black hair and his beautiful sharp eyes.

"Ida," he starts, startling her in the process, bringing her back to earth with a thump. "y-yes?" she asks in a daze, and she finds him staring at her once more, his dark eyes boring into her own emerald ones. "I believe I have an idea what your little vision is. First of all, the man you saw- you said he was elven, ay?" he asked. She nodded curtly, and he continued, "Then that would be the man who saved you from your fate, the same man who delivered you to me when you were just three."

---

She never knew how to tell night from day in this underground palace.

Maybe she never will, not unless she'd be given the chance to leave the place for a little while and head to the surface. She could tell her skin was lacking sunlight- it was as pale as a wraith's, and her fingers were as cold as such. Indeed, whenever she saw her reflection in the dimly lit mirror, she only saw a ghost of a girl with long, wavy blond hair and deep green eyes.

She caressed a strand of her golden locks absentmindedly, admiring from the side at how silky it was, her eyes half-open. She remembered asking Shadya or any other maid in the castle about how she looked. She had received the same reply from each one of them, "You look like a porcelain doll with golden hair."

Raelag's opinion was quite different; "You have the eyes of your mother," he said, while scribbling down on a piece of parchment. "And your hair is of your father's. Gold and wavy, but yours is in a feminine way."

If only she had a photo of her parents, she would have known what to say about those things. And then she thought of the facts she did know about them: Her father has died, her mother alive and well, but thoroughly shaken with her husband's death. Both rather important figures in Griffon Empire History.

That was it! She stood up and ran out into the corridor, clad in a navy nightgown, her hair still damp from the shower. Why hadn't she thought of it before? She has been known as a clever young girl, so why hadn't she thought of it?

With a burning excitement in her stomach, she dashed down the silent halls, the candle-lit lamps guiding her way. She slid down the banisters, ran down a darker corridor, and stood, panting, before the Castle library.

If her parents were part of Griffin Empire history, their names would be written in the books or the newspapers. She looked around to find a candle she could bring in, seeing how dark it was inside the room. She stood on tiptoe and grabbed a small candle nearest the doors, lighted it, and stepped into the library.

Like any other part of the place, the room was dark and cold, windows shut tight and rows of books covering the walls. She scanned through every title, hoping to see what she wanted to see that fateful night.

With a gasp she finally found the perfect book: "Known Names throughout Ashan History", and she pulled it out of its position and laid it on her lap. It was big, dusty and heavy, and though it was old, she knew, like all elven books, it would have updated itself on recent events of time.

She skimmed through the pages, her eyes on rows and columns and paragraphs of letters, never stopping to rest until she found what she was looking for. After some time her eyes rested upon a phrase: "The Beloved Queen of the Griffin Empire, Queen Isabel." Below that was a picture of a young woman in armor, her skin fair, her hair a shade of chestnut brown, her eyes a breathtaking green.

She stared and stared at the picture until she imprinted the woman's face in her memory, and she looked around for a mirror to look upon. Gathering the book in her arms she walked over to the window, and in the dim light shining from her candle, she saw her own startling jade eyes.

It mustn't be a coincidence.

She sat down on a chair and laid the book on the table, hoping to find something about her father. This time, when she turned the page, she immediately read a phrase that caught her eye: "The Late King of the Griffin Empire, King Nicolai." Below that was also a picture of a man that greatly resembled herself; his golden hair was grown long and worn free, falling down his back. He had sapphire eyes.

If destiny permits, these people might be her parents; every fiber of her body was sure of it. Looking around, she ripped out the two pages containing her mother and her father, tucked it in her pocket, returned the book, and ran back to her room.

---

Raelag walked through the dim-lit corridors, his stride calm and unbothered. He wanted to visit Ida and check if she was okay. When he stepped on the third floor, however, he heard a door down the hallway slam shut. Thinking something was wrong, he ran towards the sound, stopping in front of Ida's room.

"Ida?" he calls, knocking on the polished wood. "Ida? Are you in there? It's Raelag, don't worry."

She didn't open the door immediately, so when he was suspecting something was not right, she opened the door just in time.

"Hello, big brother." She said with a small smile. She looked greatly satisfied that evening.

"Is something going on in there? Why aren't you sleeping yet?" all concern was let out.

"I was combing my hair and fixing my things up to sleep," she replies, still smiling up at him. "Will you brush my hair for me?"

Raelag let himself smile this time. "Alright. Let me in." He pushed himself into her room, stopping before her dresser. She followed quietly, sitting in front of him. He took out a brush and started to comb her silky blond hair down her waist.

They were silent for awhile, the only sounds coming from the crickets and other night things outside her window and the gentle _fruuush_ of the comb sliding down her mane. Raelag broke the silent enchantment, saying, "You have such beautiful hair."

"I've been told the same thing by almost everyone I've met," she giggles, child-like, and Raelag marveled at how she'd grown. And to think he didn't like her from the start. "It is true anyway. There's no denying you're pretty." He told her.

She laughed again, and he kneeled down to level his face with hers, his hands holding her shoulders. "You grow more like a rose every single day," he said. She smiled at the mirror, forever remembering this small bonding before she left for good. The thought made her smile fade a little. Was she really leaving that night?

He must've noticed her sudden change of mood, and so he asked, "Is there something bothering you?"

"No," she replied. "I'm just sleepy. Thank you for your time, big brother."

It was a lie, but not a transparent one. He smiled at her and stood up, as she got down from the chair and lay down on her bed. "Goodnight, Ida." He said, before turning to the door. "Goodnight, big brother." She greeted back, watching him go. And then…

"Big brother?"

Raelag turned and looked at her, wondering what else she was going to say. "Yes, Ida?"

"I love you big brother. I'm so happy you're always here for me." She couldn't help stopping the tears fall as she said those words. But in the darkness, she knew he would not see.

"I'm happy to have you here with me too, Ida, and I love you very much." He said with a smile. Her little confession enlightened his feelings. "Now go to sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

She choked back a cry. "O-okay."

He left.

For a moment she reconsidered what she was planning to do. But then she didn't want to change her mind. She stood up and dressed; picking out the bag of needed things from under her bed, she took out the pictures of her parents from her pocket and stared at them. She let herself cry silently, washing away all her regrets. This was too cruel for her small heart.

After awhile she toughened herself up, climbed down her window, and ran off, without ever looking back.

---End of Chapter 1---

Notes:

At last it is finished! Wahaha! Here's the first addition to Ida's saga. Funny I should call it that. XD On to chappie two! Woooh!


End file.
